Gettysburg Winter 2009 : IFC
FROM THE PRESIDENT Preparing for the Future T HIS FALL PROVIDED ME with a wonderful opportunity to connect with Gettysburg College’s extended family during Homecoming and Family Weekends. Mother Nature provided us with perfect late- summer weather as we welcomed hundreds of alumni, family, and friends to campus. I continue to be moved and inspired by the great enthusiasm for Gettysburg College that so many of us share. As the fall semester progressed, we continued our strategic planning process by reviewing the 16 strategic goals outlined in the Strategic Directions for Gettysburg. During our Board of Trustees meeting in late September, we identified six goals that are of highest priority. Specifically we will strive to: • Continue to attract and support an outstanding faculty and staff who will provide an exceptionally strong educational experience for our students; • Challenge students with engaging learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom, with a particular focus on research and collaborative work with faculty; • Continue to build a campus community that reflects and welcomes a broad diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences; • Develop a distinctive co-curricular program that develops the leadership potential of our students; • Create opportunities for all students to develop an aware- ness of public policy issues through the development of the Eisenhower Institute’s programs; and • Develop a strong Gettysburg community network linking alumni and parents to our on-campus constituencies and programs. We are already making great progress in many of these areas. The Class of 2012 is one of our strongest academically and the most diverse in our history. The College has invested aggressively in new faculty — adding 12 new faculty positions in the past two years — thereby providing faculty more time to spend working one-on-one with students. Our plans to develop a co-curricular focus on leadership development have begun to take shape. Co-curricular learning goals include citizenship, inclusion, and integrity. These programs will help students translate their educa- tional experiences into purposeful action that will better their communities and society. The national election brought to Gettysburg a focus on public policy and a series of speakers, many of whom were sponsored by the Eisenhower Institute, including Chris Matthews from MSNBC’s Hardball and Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and Environmental Protection Agency chief. In October the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation awarded a grant to the College to host a nonpartisan speakers’ series in the weeks preceding the election. This series addressed some of the most pressing issues facing the nation — the economy, foreign policy, health care, and the environment — to help our students make informed decisions in the voting booth. And vote they did. While many of our students completed absentee ballots, a shuttle provided transporta- tion on Election Day between campus and polling places for those who registered to vote in Gettysburg. Each time the shuttle returned, a line of students had already formed for the next trip. More than 500 students used the shuttle and hundreds more walked or drove themselves to the local polls. The other issue that dominated our consciousness in the fall was the global economic downturn. Many of you have asked how the College is faring and what plans we have to respond to this challenging economic context. I hope you all received my letter on this subject. The good news is that the College continues to maintain a strong balance sheet, ample cash reserves, and contingency funds to help us through difficult times. Student interest in Gettysburg College remains strong. We remain committed to work with every family to put the College within financial reach, and we will strengthen our financial aid program, as appropriate, to help families hit hardest by the economic downturn. Your support is particularly important to us at this time, and I am very grateful that so many of you continue to make Gettysburg College a priority. As I have said at a variety of College gatherings, we are Gettysburg and Gettysburg is all of us. Janet Morgan Riggs ’77 Interim President
From The President
Janet Morgan Riggs
Preparing for the Future
THIS FALL PROVIDED ME with a wonderful opportunity to connect with Gettysburg College’s extended family during Homecoming and Family Weekends. Mother Nature provided us with perfect latesummer weather as we welcomed hundreds of alumni, family, and friends to campus. I continue to be moved and inspired by the great enthusiasm for Gettysburg College that so many of us share.
As the fall semester progressed, we continued our strategic planning process by reviewing the 16 strategic goals outlined in the Strategic Directions for Gettysburg.
During our Board of Trustees meeting in late September, we identified six goals that are of highest priority. Specifically we will strive to:
• Continue to attract and support an outstanding faculty and staff who will provide an exceptionally strong educational experience for our students;
• Challenge students with engaging learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom, with a particular focus on research and collaborative work with faculty;
• Continue to build a campus community that reflects and welcomes a broad diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences;
• Develop a distinctive co-curricular program that develops the leadership potential of our students;
• Create opportunities for all students to develop an awareness of public policy issues through the development of the Eisenhower Institute’s programs; and
• Develop a strong Gettysburg community network linking alumni and parents to our on-campus constituencies and programs.
We are already making great progress in many of these areas. The Class of 2012 is one of our strongest academically and the most diverse in our history. The College has invested aggressively in new faculty — adding 12 new faculty positions in the past two years — thereby providing faculty more time to spend working one-on-one with students.
Our plans to develop a co-curricular focus on leadership development have begun to take shape. Co-curricular learning goals include citizenship, inclusion, and integrity.
These programs will help students translate their educa Tional experiences into purposeful action that will better their communities and society.
The national election brought to Gettysburg a focus on public policy and a series of speakers, many of whom were sponsored by the Eisenhower Institute, including Chris Matthews from MSNBC’s Hardball and Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and Environmental Protection Agency chief. In October the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation awarded a grant to the College to host a nonpartisan speakers’ series in the weeks preceding the election. This series addressed some of the most pressing issues facing the nation — the economy, foreign policy, health care, and the environment — to help our students make informed decisions in the voting booth.
And vote they did. While many of our students completed absentee ballots, a shuttle provided transportation on Election Day between campus and polling places for those who registered to vote in Gettysburg. Each time the shuttle returned, a line of students had already formed for the next trip. More than 500 students used the shuttle and hundreds more walked or drove themselves to the local polls.
The other issue that dominated our consciousness in the fall was the global economic downturn. Many of you have asked how the College is faring and what plans we have to respond to this challenging economic context. I hope you all received my letter on this subject. The good news is that the College continues to maintain a strong balance sheet, ample cash reserves, and contingency funds to help us through difficult times. Student interest in Gettysburg College remains strong. We remain committed to work with every family to put the College within financial reach, and we will strengthen our financial aid program, as appropriate, to help families hit hardest by the economic downturn.
Your support is particularly important to us at this time, and I am very grateful that so many of you continue to make Gettysburg College a priority. As I have said at a variety of College gatherings, we are Gettysburg and Gettysburg is all of us.
Publication List
